His threats to lynch an NAACP president made her flee Florida, cops say. Now, he’s in jail

Ronald Morris Wadford was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated stalking on Aug. 9, 2018 by Gainesville police. Alachua County Jail

Ronald Morris Wadford was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated stalking on Aug. 9, 2018 by Gainesville police. Alachua County Jail

For nearly two years, Evelyn Foxx, president of the Alachua County chapter of the NAACP, says she has “been looking over my shoulder” because of what a Gainesville man has allegedly done to her, The Gainesville Sun reports.

Thursday, Gainesville police and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office gave Foxx some measure of comfort.

Deputies arrested Ronald Morris Wadford on two counts of aggravated stalking; the charges are considered a hate crime, the Ocala Star Banner reported.

According to police, Wadford, 75, who is homeless, called Foxx six times in November 2016. Police said he told her he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan and that he was going to go to her house and “hang your [n-word] ass.”

Sign Up and Save

Foxx took his calls seriously. For a few weeks she stayed with family out of state. And when she returned to Florida, she lived outside Alachua County for fear the caller would make good on his threats.

Foxx attended Wadford’s court hearing, where his bail was set at $500,000, according to Alachua County jail records.

“I had to see this man,” Foxx told The Gainesville Sun. “I could see the hate and bigotry in his eyes. It was not a big deal to him.”

But Foxx, who found a Confederate flag tossed on her front yard in 2017 — police have not said whether the incidents are related — told The Gainesville Sun that today she would share a different kind of message with Wadford if given the opportunity.

“I would ask him why, and I would tell him I love him. Love conquers hate,” she said.

Read Next

Lakeland resident and Florida Polytechnic University faculty member Brian Birky is back in jail on 300 counts of child pornography possession after investigators say they found more child porn pictures on a hard drive.